Schwartzman, S. and M. Knobel (2016). "High-Stakes Entrance Examinations: a View From Brazil." International Higher Education 85 (Spring, 2016): 19-20. The curriculum of secondary education in Brazil includes more than 15 mandatory subjects, with no optional courses and no flexibility or room for vocational study (available only after completing the traditional curriculum). ENEM reinforces this rigid standardization, turning all secondary schools, effectively, into preparation for the exam, even though most of the students who take the exam will never pursue higher education, and the majority of those who do will study in the private sector, where a qualifying exam is rarely required.